CHICAGO -- State Sen. Donne Trotter is expected in bond court after he was charged with a felony for trying to bring a handgun onto a flight from Chicago to Washington.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office says Trotter is scheduled to be in bond court on Thursday morning. He was arrested Wednesday morning at O’Hare International Airport, where a transportation security officer discovered the firearm in a garment bag during an x-ray screening.

The Chicago Democrat recently announced he would run to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in the U.S. House of Representatives. Police say he was carrying an unloaded .25-caliber Beretta handgun and a magazine clip with ammunition.

The 62-year-old told Transportation Security Administration officers that he uses the weapon for work as a security officer at a Chicago firm.